Remote user interface for media player

ABSTRACT

A portable media player communicates with a host computer for enabling a user of the player to manage media distribution using the control software of the host computer. The host computer can send a GUI that is displayed on the otherwise “dumb” player, and the user can view the GUI and press a single button to command the control software to download a media title to the player. The host computer can periodically poll the player to determine its status.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. provisionalapplication serial No. 60/407,174, filed Aug. 30, 2002, incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to media player systems.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Media players such as digital music players and multimediaplayers have been introduced. Some of these players permit a user totransfer media, under control of a host computer operated by a user,between the player and the host computer, which might be networked. Inthis way, media titles that are available on the network can beconveniently transferred to the media player.

[0004] To manage the above-mentioned operations, control software isexecuted on the host computer. The control software is operated by auser at the host computer to present a graphical user interface (GUI) onthe host computer, to facilitate, e.g., browsing for media titles andcontrolling the transfer of titles to the player.

[0005] As recognized by the present invention, the process discussedabove requires a user to access the host computer, and to know how tooperate the host computer. As further recognized by the presentinvention, it would be advantageous to permit the user to manage mediatransfer using the player itself, without requiring the player to have arelatively expensive processor capable of executing the operatingsoftware.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] A system for managing media distribution includes a host computerand a media player that includes a display and at least one inputdevice. The media player communicates with the host computer. Asoftware-implemented control module in the host computer renders a userinterface (UI) on the player, such that a user can manipulate the inputdevice in cooperation with the UI to manage distribution of mediabetween the host computer and player.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the user can manipulate the inputdevice to cause the host computer to transfer a media stream to theplayer. The preferred input device may include one or more buttons onthe player and, if desired, a jog dial, and a media stream can bedownloaded to the player in response to the user depressing the buttononce and only once, without requiring the user to depress any otherbuttons. Also, the preferred player may include at least one lightemitting diode (LED) and the host computer can energize the LED toindicate to the user the availability of a music title.

[0008] In other preferred, non-limiting embodiments, the host computercan periodically poll the player to determine player status. Preferably,the host computer polls the player more frequently when the player is inan active mode than when the player is in an energy-saving mode. Theplayer may not be able to initiate communication with the host computer.

[0009] In another aspect, a method for providing at least one mediastream to a media player includes engaging a data storage disk with amedium device to establish an engagement, and detecting the engagement.Using the host computer, an indication of the engagement is caused to bedisplayed on the media player. The method also includes manipulating asingle button a single time on the media player to cause a media streamon the disk to be sent to the media player under control of the hostcomputer.

[0010] In still another aspect, a media player includes electronic mediastoring at least one media stream, and means for playing the stream. Adisplay for presenting a user interface (UI) generated by a hostcomputer and transmitted from the host computer to the media player isalso provided.

[0011] The details of the present invention, both as to its structureand operation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and inwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system of the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the overall logic;

[0014]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of exemplary non-limiting logic formanaging media operations using the player, under control of software inthe host computer; and

[0015]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of exemplary non-limiting logic that can befollowed to manage media using a player that receives periodic statusrequests from the host processor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0016] Referring initially to FIG. 1, a system is shown, generallydesignated 10, that includes a portable media player 12, such as a musicplayer, e.g., a Sony Walkman® or other multimedia player with datastorage capabilities, such as a Sony Memory Stick®, for storingdigitally recorded songs and the like. The media player 12 also includesa play device that reads electronically stored streams on the datastorage and transforms the streams into audible sounds in accordancewith media stream playing principles known in the art, such as thoseembodied in a Sony Walkman®. The media player 12 can be a CD player.

[0017] The media player 12 can include a processor 14 and a display 16,such as an LCD display, but unlike a personal computer, the processor 14does not generate a graphics user interface (GUI) on the display 16 whenundertaking the media management operations discussed below. By “GUI” or“UI” is meant the actual graphical elements necessary for control usinga display, as opposed to data elements, such as media titles, that aredisplayed using an underlying GUI. In a less preferred embodiment, nodisplay need be provided, only the below-described LEDs to indicatestatus.

[0018] The media player 12 can also include a user input device 18, suchas but not limited to buttons and/or jog dials. In one preferrednon-limiting embodiment, the media player 12 includes a housing that canbe worn on the belt of a person and headphones connected by a wire tothe housing, with the display 16 and input device 18 (in the form ofbuttons and jog dial) being attached to the headphone wire, although allthe components of the player 12 can be mounted on a single housing ifdesired. If desired, non-graphic indicators such as LEDs 20 (threeshown) can be provided on the belt-worn portion of the player 12 forpurposes to be shortly disclosed.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 includes a host computer 22that communicates with the media player 12 via a communication path 24.The path 24 can be a wire that uses a universal serial bus (USB)protocol, or a IEEE 1394 protocol, or a RS-232 protocol, or a 802.11protocol. Or, the path 24 can be a short range wireless path such asBluetooth, infrared, or other wireless path. The host computer 22 can bea personal computer or other computer associated with the user thatexecutes a media management control module 26 in accordance with thelogic below.

[0020]FIG. 1 also shows that one or more networked devices 28 can beconnected to the host computer 22 either directly or through theInternet 20. If desired, a networked device 28 can be connected directlyto the player 12. The networked devices 28 can be, without limitation,CD and DVD players that can receive, e.g., CD-ROMs on which music orother sound is recorded, and other computers. One of the networkeddevices 28 may be an Internet-accessible or otherwise accessibleelectronic music distribution server.

[0021] Now referring to FIG. 2, the overall logic of the presentinvention can be seen. Commencing at block 32, communication isestablished between the host computer 22 and the player 12. In someembodiments the player 12 cannot initiate communication, so that thehost computer 22 initiates the link at block 32.

[0022] Moving to block 34, the control software 26 in the host computer22 downloads a GUI to the player 12 for display thereof on the display16. The GUI can, without limitation, indicate and support operationsthat may be executed by the host computer 22 in response to user inputat the player 12, as well as provide the necessary control means thatenable the user to issue commands to cause the host computer 22 toexecute the operations.

[0023] In any case, the processor 14 of the player 12 need not generatethe GUI or even know how it functions. This makes the player 12 veryrobust, in that additional functionality can be provided simply byappropriately programming the host computer 22 without having to modifythe relatively simple and inexpensive player 12.

[0024] At block 36, user commands generated by appropriatelymanipulating the input device 18 on the player 12 in conjunction withthe GUI are received by the host computer 22. These commands representuser management desires, e.g., a command to copy a stream from one ofthe devices on the network, such as all or part of the content of a CDplayer network device 28, to another, such as the player 12. Thecommands can also indicate updating the player display to allow the userto navigate through the menus. The commands from the player 12 areexecuted by the host computer 22 at block 38.

[0025]FIG. 3 shows an exemplary one-click copy operation in accordancewith the present invention. Commencing at block 40, a user can engage adisk such as a CD or DVD with an appropriately configured network device28. The host computer 22 detects the engagement by, e.g., receiving amessage indicative of the engagement from the network device 28.

[0026] At block 42, the host computer renders an indication on theplayer 12 that the disk has been engaged with the network device 28 andthat digitally recorded streams, such as music or multimedia streams,are available for recording into the player 12. A menu showing theavailable artists, and/or albums, and/or tracks, can be displayed.Without limitation, the indication can include one or more of thefollowing: energizing the LED 20, displaying the titles of availablestreams on the display 16, and displaying a message on the display suchas “copy disk?”

[0027] Moving to block 44, the user manipulates the input device 18 asappropriate to input the desired command(s). In one preferredembodiment, the input device 18 includes a button, and the user simplydepresses the button once and only once to cause the host processor toprovide the player 12 with a copy of the available stream orstreams—i.e., one-click copying. No other user action is required,either at the player 12, host computer 22, or network device 28.Instead, at block 46 the control software of the host computer 22,responsive to the command input at the player 12, executes the command,in this case, by causing a copy of the available stream on the disk thatwas engaged at block 40 to be sent to the player 12.

[0028] In another embodiment, the user of the player 12 may scrollthrough a list of titles presented on the GUI using the jog dial of theinput device 18. When the desired title is displayed, the user maydepress a button of the input device 18 to receive a copy of the streamrepresented by the title. Still further, the GUI generated by the hostprocessor 22 may display a list of available artists, with the userselecting one of the artists to cause a second menu or list of songs bythat artist to appear on the display 16 of the player 12, for subsequentselection of a particular song or songs by that artist.

[0029]FIG. 4 shows logic that can be executed to copy content to theplayer 12. While the logic is shown in flow chart form with decisiondiamonds for convenience of disclosure, it is to be understood that thelogic equivalently could be represented by a state diagram or otherlogic indicating convention.

[0030] Commencing at block 48, a command from the host computer 22 ismonitored for. Decision diamond 50 indicates that the command, whenreceived, might be a command to render the GUI on the display 16 orenergize an LED, in which case the logic moves to block 52 to render theGUI and/or energize the LED. Decision diamond 54, on the other hand,indicates that the command may be a status request, in which case thelogic moves to block 56 to communicate the status of the player 12 backto the host computer 22. In one preferred non-limiting embodiment, toconserve energy the player 12 has an energy saving mode and an activemode. In the energy saving mode, the player 12 is quiescent, to conserveenergy. When this status is reported to the host computer 22, it issuesstatus checks to the player 12 less frequently than it does when theplayer 12 is in the active mode, i.e., is being used to play a mediastream. The user may exit the energy saving mode at any time by, e.g.,depressing a button on the input device 18.

[0031] Block 58 indicates that if the processor 14 determines that acommand has been received but that it is not from the host computer 22,it must be a device-specific command (such as “play track”) that isexecuted locally.

[0032] While the particular REMOTE USER INTERFACE FOR MEDIA PLAYER asherein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining theabove-described objects of the invention, it is to be understood that itis the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and isthus representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplatedby the present invention, that the scope of the present invention fullyencompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilledin the art, and that the scope of the present invention is accordinglyto be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in whichreference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more”. Allstructural and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described preferred embodiment that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the presentclaims. Moreover, it is not necessary for a device or method to addresseach and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention, forit to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element,component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, ormethod step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element hereinis to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixthparagraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase“means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited asa “step” instead of an “act”.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for managing media distribution,comprising: at least one host computer; at least one media playerincluding a display and at least one input device, the media playercommunicating with the host computer; and at least onesoftware-implemented control module in the host computer and rendering auser interface (UI) on the player, wherein a user can manipulate theinput device in cooperation with the UI to manage distribution and/orplayback of media between the host computer and player.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the user can manipulate the input device to cause thehost computer to transfer at least one media stream to the player. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein the input device includes at least onebutton on the player, and a media stream is downloaded to the player inresponse to the user depressing the button once and only once, withoutrequiring the user to depress any other buttons.
 4. The system of claim1, wherein the player includes at least one light emitting diode (LED)and the host computer energizes the LED to indicate to the user theavailability of a music title.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thehost computer periodically polls the player to determine player status.6. The system of claim 5, wherein the host computer polls the playermore frequently when the player is in an active mode than when theplayer is in an energy-saving mode.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe player cannot initiate communication with the host computer.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the host computer pushes a GUI onto theplayer.
 9. A method for providing at least one media stream to a mediaplayer, comprising: engaging a data storage disk with a medium device toestablish an engagement, the storage disk containing the media stream;using the host computer, causing an indication of the engagement to bedisplayed on the media player; and manipulating a single button a singletime on the media player to cause the media stream to be sent to themedia player under control of the host computer.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein the indication is established by energizing at least one LED.11. The method of claim 9, further comprising causing the media playerto display a GUI generated by the host computer.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the GUI indicates the title of the stream in human readableform.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the media player cannotinitiate communication with the host computer.
 14. The method of claim9, comprising periodically polling the player using the host computer todetermine player status.
 15. The method of claim 14, comprising pollingthe player more frequently when the player is in an active mode thanwhen the player is in an energy-saving mode.
 16. A media player,comprising: electronic media storing at least one media stream; meansfor playing the stream; and a display for presenting a user interface(UI) generated by a host computer and transmitted from the host computerto the media player.
 17. The media player of claim 16, furthercomprising at least one input device, wherein a user can manipulate theinput device in cooperation with the UI to manage distribution of mediabetween the host computer and player.
 18. The media player of claim 17,wherein the user can manipulate the input device to cause the hostcomputer to transfer at least one media stream to the player.
 19. Themedia player of claim 16, wherein the player includes an input deviceincluding at least one button, and a media stream is downloaded to theplayer in response to the user depressing the button once and only once,without requiring the user to depress any other buttons.
 20. The mediaplayer of claim 16, wherein the player includes at least one lightemitting diode (LED) and the host computer energizes the LED to indicateto the user the availability of a music title.
 21. The media player ofclaim 16, wherein the host computer periodically polls the player todetermine player status.
 22. The media player of claim 21, wherein thehost computer polls the player more frequently when the player is in anactive mode than when the player is in an energy-saving mode.
 23. Themedia player of claim 16, wherein the player cannot initiatecommunication with the host computer.
 24. A system, comprising: hostcomputer means; media player means for playing electronically-storedstreams, the media player means communicating with the host computermeans; means for causing a media title to be displayed on the playermeans, the title being associated with a piece of music; and means for,using a click of a button on the media player, causing the music to bedownloaded into the media player.
 25. The system of claim 24, whereinthe means for using a click of a button includes means for causing thepiece of music to be downloaded using one and only one click of abutton.
 26. The system of claim 24, comprising: means for engaging adata storage disk with a medium device to establish an engagement, thestorage disk containing the media title; means for detecting theengagement; and means for causing an indication of the engagement to bedisplayed on the media player means.
 27. The system of claim 26, whereinthe indication is established by energizing at least one LED.
 28. Thesystem of claim 26, further comprising means for causing the mediaplayer to display a GUI generated by the host computer.
 29. The systemof claim 28, wherein the GUI indicates the title in human readable form.30. The system of claim 26, wherein the media player means cannotinitiate communication with the host computer means.
 31. The system ofclaim 26, comprising means for periodically polling the player using thehost computer to determine player status.
 32. The system of claim 31,comprising means for polling the player means more frequently when theplayer means is in an active mode than when the player means is in anenergy-saving mode.
 33. A method for providing at least one media streamto a media player, comprising: engaging a CD with a CD-ROM player toestablish an engagement, the CD containing the media stream; using thehost computer, causing an indication of the engagement to be displayedon the media player; and manipulating a single button a single time onthe media player to cause the media stream to be sent to the mediaplayer under control of the host computer.